Deputy President Debates Fact-Checks: Gachagua’s claim of 6 million unemployed youth

Four candidates for the position of Deputy President met in a face-to-face debate on July 19, 2022.

The Kenya Editors Guild Fact-Checking desk looked into whether their claims were inaccurate. Here are the fact-checks:

Claim: “We are inheriting 6 million young people who have no jobs.”  - Rigathi Gachagua

Dr. Jacob Omolo,  a senior lecturer in the Department of Applied Economics at Kenyatta University, said the number quoted by Mr Gachagua is larger than the actual situation.

“Whether we use the labour force cohorts of a youth that is 15-34 years or the constitutional definition of a youth from the age of 18, the number is way less than what he claimed.” 

He added, “The data from the 2019 Kenya population and housing census puts the total number of unemployed irrespective of age at 2.7 million .

“Even with whatever growth rate in the country, there is no way we could hit 6 million unemployed youth.”

- This fact check was produced as part of an initiative by the Kenya Editors Guild to counter disinformation.